Latest White Sox Talk

Chris Perez has rubbed people in the AL Central the wrong way before -- just ask Alex Rios. Following Cleveland's sweep of Detroit, Perez stirred the pot again, with MLB.com's Jason Beck passing along the quote he gave when asked about the Indians garnering some national attention:

I hope so. I dont think we care. Were not like flipping on ESPN to see if were leading off SportsCenter. We dont care. They do their thing. They cover the Yankees and the Red Sox and how bad the Angels are. Were doing our own thing. Theyll eventually turn. I saw a couple articles. Were starting to get some love. Its just we dont have the star power. You look over there and youve got Cabrera and Fielder and Verlander and Valverde. But that doesnt win baseball games. Good teams win baseball games.

Perez is right: Detroit doesn't have much depth. But Cabrera, Fielder and Valverde have been part of the problem in their own ways -- Cabrera has been very good, but not elite as he has in the past. Fielder has been merely good, not very good or elite as he's been in the past. And Valverde has crashed hard after his tenuously-perfect 2011, posting an ERA above 5 heading into the weekend.

Of course, it's still early, and Perez may see these words come back to haunt him if Detroit goes on the run so many are expecting. And this direct of a call-out probably will earn Perez an enemy tag in Detroit.

Oh, and the line about ESPN's coverage probably has the entire Midwest yelling "THANK YOU!"

Latest White Sox Talk

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The White Sox have a pair of relievers to dangle and have become increasingly busier with two of three free-agent closers off the board.

Prior to leaving the Winter Meetings on Thursday, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was asked if a pool of relievers including closer David Robertson and setup man Nate Jones had drawn much interest.

Having already traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, it’s believed the White Sox are willing to part with most anyone if the price is right. It sounds as if that possibility has improved after the Yankees’ late night signing of Aroldis Chapman on Wednesday, two days after the San Francisco Giants signed Mark Melancon. With only Kenley Jansen still left in free agency and due a big salary, Robertson, who has two years and $25 million left on his deal, could solve several teams’ relief needs. Jones is also a draw with potentially five years left on his current team-friendly deal, which includes two club options and one mutual option for 2021.

“We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations on a number of different fronts involving are players,” Hahn said. “And yes, we still have reliever pieces and starting pieces that are appealing to various teams throughout the league. I don’t think anything is going to happen between now and the time I go pick up my bags and head to the airport. But still thoroughly engaged, deeply engaged on a number of different fronts.”

Despite adding five pitchers and two position players through their first two moves, the White Sox still have a long list of desires. That list potentially includes a long-term starting catcher and another big bat among others.